By ROBERT LINNEHAN
The Friends of the Moorestown Library haven’t taken an official stand on whether or not Moorestown needs a new library structure, but if it does, it has to be big enough to make it worthwhile.
John O’Meara, an officer and recording secretary of the friends, presented a detailed presentation to members of the Moorestown Township Council last week to dispute several recommendations by a municipal complex task force.
When presenting its finding about a new library building, O’Meara said the task force proposed a facility with only 22,000 square feet in space. Based on several national and local reports for the space needs of new libraries, O’Meara said the optimal square footage for a new township library would be about 33,000 to 36,000 square feet.
At a minimum, the friends of the library board said about 26,000 square feet would work, O’Meara revealed.
Moorestown Township boasts an impressive library collection, O’Meara said, which complicates the process. The library has about 150,000 volumes in its collection, he said, one of the largest and oldest collections in South Jersey.
“More books means more space. The town should not be downsizing by taking a portion of a 30 year collection and throwing it out. It represents a trust from the past and represents 30 years of the town’s history,” O’Meara said.
The current structure, which was built in 1974, is not architecturally correct and needs a number of improvements to provide the type of library that the township deserves, O’Meara said.
In the long run, a new 22,000 square foot library would not serve the township very well, O’Meara said.
“Our position is that the building should be an ample size and layout that when we’re funding programs the programs will be successful. You have to have the facility to support them,” he said.
O’Meara also urged residents to join the Moorestown Friends of the Library if they wish to get involved with the issue. Application forms are available at the front desk of the library.
